Chapter 561: Retreat from the Ruins
“A fully armed group is heading this way!”
At Longa’s warning, Jack, Tauro, and the others inside the building immediately rushed outside. Longa was Blue Thunder Beast’s longsword user.
Tauro’s [True Eye] hadn’t yet detected the approaching group.
But moments later, numerous silhouettes appeared within its vision.
“A group equipped like adventurers and moving in formation… It’s the Olog-Hai that fled earlier.”
Speaking loudly enough for everyone to hear, Tauro turned to Longa, who had brought the warning.
“I found what looks like another entrance to these ruins over there. Olog-Hai started pouring out of it one after another, so I hurried back to report. Looks like they brought reinforcements.”
Just as Longa had said, [True Eye] showed large numbers of Olog-Hai emerging from the direction he indicated.
“Jack-san, we should retreat for now. The enemy numbers are abnormal!”
After confirming the advancing horde, Tauro warned them to withdraw.
“…We have no other choice. Even if we barricade ourselves inside this building, they’ll wear us down. Let’s withdraw before we’re surrounded.”
Jack made the painful decision to abandon the ancient ruins they had discovered.
“Wait, Jack, are you serious!? We’re just running from a pack of monsters!?” Gemma, leader of Silver Twin Mages, protested.
“Tauro, tell her how many there are.”
Although Jack possessed [Ranger], a skill well suited to scouting, he had recognized that Tauro’s detection was at least as capable and left the explanation to him.
“…From what I can confirm, there are at least two hundred Olog-Hai. Fighting that many would be suicide. —Ah… There are also around fifty different silhouettes following behind them and moving as though they’re giving orders. We need to be wary of that group too.”
Though calm, Tauro’s urgent report left Gemma speechless.
“…You all heard him. We’re abandoning this place. Everyone, retreat immediately!”
Suppressing his frustration, Jack swiftly retrieved the luggage he had left near the entrance.
“Everyone run!”
Jack urged everyone onward so the approaching Olog-Hai horde wouldn’t catch them before they could escape.
Thanks to their swift response, they withdrew from the central area of the ruins before they were noticed.
From what Tauro could see with [True Eye], the Olog-Hai spread through the central plaza and formed ranks as though waiting for the Guardian Stone Golems that should have emerged from the building.
Their movements were unmistakably military.
Among them, Tauro could make out silhouettes unlike the Olog-Hai, moving as though they were directing the formation.
That clearly looks human… doesn’t it?
As he ran, Tauro repeatedly glanced back with [True Eye], puzzled by what he was seeing.
They still didn’t understand the ecology of this new species, the Olog-Hai—but could humans truly be commanding them?
His doubts deepened as they distanced themselves from the plaza.
When no Guardian Stone Golems appeared, the Olog-Hai sent a small unit into the building.
Soon after, perhaps sensing something was amiss, several of the commanding silhouettes entered as well.
They quickly rushed back out, apparently issuing orders. The Olog-Hai who had been in formation began spreading out in all directions.
“…It seems they’ve realized we entered first. We need to hurry!” Tauro called to Jack beside him.
“They’ve already figured it out!? —Then I guess we have no choice but to block the entrance to the ruins we came from…”
Just as Jack resolved to prioritize his companions’ safety over claiming credit for discovering the ruins—
The Silver Twin Mages, running at the front, encountered another Olog-Hai group.
“Another group of Olog-Hai is blocking the entrance!” Gemma shouted back.
Then the twin sisters began chanting a coordinated offensive spell.
“You two, stop that spell! Aeris, put up a barrier over this area that nullifies magic!”
Tauro realized the twins were preparing a high-powered combined spell and tried to stop them. When they continued chanting, he asked Aeris to intervene.
If such a powerful spell blocked the exit, it would be the end for them.
Without wasting time arguing, Aeris cast an advanced magic-nullifying barrier before the twins could finish their spell, spreading the field across the area.
The twins completed their chant by a hair’s breadth and pointed their staffs at the Olog-Hai—
But the spell fizzled.
“Our magic!?” the twins cried together.
Ignoring their shock, Tauro and the others sprinted past.
The Olog-Hai noticed them and moved forward in formation.
“We can’t use magic right now—but I can still take things out of [Magic Storage]!”
Tauro shouted while running.
True to his words, Tauro pulled out the enormous stone sarcophagus they had just recovered—directly above the Olog-Hai.
“Gyaaaah?!”
The Olog-Hai noticed the sudden shadow below them and looked up.
The next instant, the enormous stone sarcophagus crushed them.
A thunderous crash and cloud of dust followed.
“Nice one, Leader!” Ankh praised Tauro’s quick thinking.
“More of them will come because of that noise—hurry!”
Tauro said this as he ran, then returned the stone sarcophagus to [Magic Storage].
“Jack-san, we managed to recover the contents of the sarcophagus, so please give up on the sarcophagus itself.”
“What do you mean?” Jack asked as they ran deeper through the exit passage.
It was a natural question. The stone sarcophagus was also a valuable archaeological artifact for Jack and the others.
“We’ll use it to block the exit.”
Tauro had already judged that its size was almost perfect for sealing the passage.
They couldn’t use earth magic to block the way because Aeris’s nullification barrier was still preventing magic use, and even Aeris couldn’t cancel the spell immediately.
“…Okay. You recovered what was inside?”
“Yes. The impact from dropping it on the Olog-Hai seems to have broken the anti-theft magic inside. We recovered the contents safely. Please inspect everything after we return.”
Jack nodded at Tauro’s report.
“…Do it.”
Without hesitation, Tauro pulled out the stone sarcophagus once more and sealed the entrance with it.